Throughout my professional life, from right after college on, I have always been one of those people who make lists. My father was always making lists for his daily errands and appointments and chores and he still does. And I suppose I might have inherited that tendency from him, but it has served me well. Every employer has always found my work exceptional and they were always impressed with the amount of work I was able to get done when other coworkers were struggling with time management issues. And it’s true…a list has always been my weapon of choice to make sure I get the most out of the hours I have in a day.

When we decided to be home business owners, part of the allure was the freedom it would bring to our daily schedules. No more alarm clock unless we wanted to be up early, no more waiting until a lunch break to hectically run errands and no more hoping that the weekend would bring weather that was decent enough for us to get out and about and enjoy the things we like to do. So making a schedule was not an option as far as I was concerned. However, a list offers the advantages of organization without the accompanying stringency of a schedule.

Each day, we start off with a list of what we want to accomplish for our business. There is no set time to accomplish those items by, but we do those things based on when it makes most sense for us and the business. We do call-backs to prospects during the time of day when we have seen a trend in people being home to receive our calls. We post our ads first thing in the morning usually to gain the full-day exposure and we participate on the social media sites throughout the day off and on. We also allow for some personal contact marketing when we do get out and run errands and we always make sure to allow time for listening to valuable team calls or recorded calls that will offer us further information and training by our corporate office.

A list is key to making sure you execute all those important daily steps to grow your business. It can free you from a demanding schedule and yet keep you focused on the key elements that play a part in your success. It can serve you well when you have a few minutes on your hands when downloading a file or waiting for a page to load. By glancing at your list you can use those few minutes to accomplish something else. It will also allow you to gauge how much time you spend on some tasks as you will know at all times what you yet hope to get done. Whether you keep the list in electronic form on your computer or use the good old fashioned paper and pen method, it can be a real time-saver and help you get through your daily tasks quickly, freeing up more time for you to enjoy the flexibility that a home business offers.

Anything I deem less important goes at the bottom of my list and gets carried forward the next day if I don’t complete it. That way it is always there for when I do have time or want to make time for it. I also include the personal things I want to do in that same list—a load of laundry, a run to the post office, a call to schedule a dentist appointment, etc. Because, let’s face it…you will have those personal things that you need to do each day and by adding them to the list, they can remind you that those need to be worked in, in-between the specific business tasks you have to do. I will make personal appointment calls while posting ads and while loading files. There is a lot of wasted time throughout a typical day on those types of things so your list can put that reminder in front of you that will have you utilizing that wasted time, thus providing you the reward of more free time at the end of the day.

My husband never was a list-maker when we met. But over the years he has seen the value in having that “guide” to better his use of time. Now he is officially an avid list-user and finds his overall time management has improved, and yet he hasn’t felt pressured as he would with a schedule. List making on a daily basis is definitely a habit to develop. You will find yourself less overwhelmed in times that there is a lot to do for your business and you will also discover you actually accomplish more when you have something to refer to. You will conclude each day having done the most important things you can do to grow your business and to reach the level of success you hope to reach.